Martha Doily

Martha Doily © Wanda Salmans 2010

I made this doily almost five years ago (five years?!) while on vacation to Washington, D.C.  I got to thinking about it the other day while working on Queen's Crown Edging, wondering how it would look in two colors.  Why would this doily come to mind while working on an edging?  Because both have a lot of switching shuttles and changing directions. 

So I took a break from edgings and tried Martha in two colors. 

Martha Doily © Wanda Salmans 2010

This one is made with Lizbeth #658 Ocean Turquoise Light and #657 Ocean Turquoise Dark, both in size 20.  It is seven inches across from point to point.  The original was made in DMC size 30 ecru and ended up being six inches across from point to point.

 Martha Doily © Wanda Salmans 2010

Here's a comparison of the two doilies side-by-side.

Does anyone see the mistake in the ecru doily?  Obviously the judges at the county fair in 2010 didn't see it, either, because it won a blue ribbon that year.  I only found it now because I was going through it trying to jot down the stitch counts to write out the pattern.  I had to laugh about it - I'd never seen it myself.  An obvious but very well hidden oopsie.

Isn't it amazing how different a pattern looks when done in different colors?  It can change the look and feel of a piece a lot.  I noticed this last week when I tested the pattern for QCE and again with this doily.   To see another version of the QCE done in two colors but differently, check out Jane McLellan's version of it on her blog.

When I made the original doily it was in July and very hot.  This second one was done in February with cold temperatures though very little snow here.  If we lived just a few miles west we would have had a lot more snow.  Today is mild with temperatures in the 30s and low 40s F but the forecast is for much colder weather and snow.   Quite the contrast, just like the doilies.


"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy."
Anton Chekhov
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Tatting Tea Tuesday with IsDihara

I'm still here in Washington, DC, with my daughter and her family. Shortly after I got here I received an email from IsDihara. As she lives close by, she asked if I'd like to me her. !!! Of course! To meet another tatter and one who blogs as well - oh, yeah!

We didn't meet right away because I was here to help my daughter after she had surgery. By this week she was feeling much better and ready to get out of the house. So I emailed IsDihara and we arranged to me at the Potomac Mills Mall. And on Tuesday, no less!

Here we are, IsDihara on the left, me on the right, having a cup of tea. As neither of us knew what the other looked like it was like, how will we know who the other is? As I knew we (my daughter, her baby and my husband) were there first I figured the easiest way to let her know that it was me was to pull out my shuttles. So there we sat, in the food court of the mall, me tatting away. She had no trouble finding me!

I was so glad we could meet! As my daughter said to me later, IsDihara and I could have spent all afternoon talking. And she brought me the prize I won from her Halloween giveaway! How fortuitous is that!
Isn't this pretty? This isn't the best picture - it's wonderful in person. It has a tatted pumpkin edging around it and the front has a pumpkin. Check out her blog Ambitatterous, I think her picture is better.

It was a great afternoon, a wonderful Tatting Tea Tuesday!

I have gotten a little tatting done. As I'm away from home I only have a few colors to work with so I've been doing a lot in the Lizbeth Falling Leaves in size 20. These two butterflies are my pattern, with Lizbeth size 20 black as the body and the edging. The heart is Tracy's Heart, by Heather from The Tarnished Tatter, in the same threads. This heart is easy to do and will come in handy for notes and letters and such.

This has been a great week here with my daughter and her family. And a little extra bonus meeting another tatting blogger! And I've even seen a little of Washington - more tomorrow, I hope!

Happy Tatting everyone!